he called for an end to the bloodshed in syria and prayed that god would help the israelis and palestinians resume talks. the 84-year-old pontiff making the remarks after a late night christmas eve mass. greg burke is standing live from rome with the very latest. hi, greg. >> hi, eric. merry christmas. you know that's right. for the pope, christmas is like a double-header. there's that mass on christmas eve and then a very big day christmas day. the message and the blessings from the balcony over st. peter's square with lots of people showing up. the pope's message today was really quite simple. let's pray for peace, be close to those who are suffering, either through violence or through natural disasters. the pope spoke about the violence, and also praying that the israelis and palestinians could get dialogue started again. pope benedict also praying asking for stability in iraq and afghanistan. there was absolutely an overflow crowd in st. peter's square as there always is on this day but, perhaps, especially today because the weather was so good. amazing just a number of flags you see th